OzBosco – a view from Cambodia

‘Sir, we want see Jesus’ was the main theme of OzBosco (cf austraLasia #2726) . Youth from all over Australia gathered together in Sydney to participate in this great event. The main highlights of the programme were input sessions, workshops, site seeing and the Bush dance.

The input sessions were organised for the whole group, while the workshops were conducted by dividing the whole group into different clusters. I was asked by the organisers to conduct two workshops on the Salesian mission in Cambodia.

The main goal of my presentation was to create an awareness among Australian young people that their counterparts who live in developing countries face an enormous struggle to cope with daily life. For instance, Cambodian youth struggle hard to survive and to meet their basic needs. The topic I chose for my presentation was the motto of the Salesians in Cambodia: ‘fighting poverty through education’.

The different educational methods Salesians use in Cambodia were explained in detail. These include technical training, social communication, hotel management, The Don Bosco Children’s Fund and the young people (aspirants) who want to be Salesians.

Real life situations and others expressed through photos helped the Australian youngsters to broaden their horizons and gain a different perspective on another part of the world. At the same time they understood not to take their own opportunities for granted. After the presentation I was bombarded with different types of questions about the Salesian work in Cambodia and how Australian youth could become part of the Cambodian mission.